Autistic boys should not have to become hard to belong.
Boys receive countless instructions about masculinity but often very little meaningful guidance.
They are told to toughen up, hide fear, control their emotions, fight back, and avoid anything that might be interpreted as weak. Autistic boys experience this pressure while also being expected to conceal their sensory needs, regulate in overwhelming environments, decode unspoken rules, and mask the very qualities that make them who they are.
They are asked to wear two masks at once: the mask of neurotypicality and the mask of traditional masculinity.
A Different Kind of Boy asks what happens when we help them take those masks off.
